January 01, 2007
With one more game remaining on the non-conference slate and Big 12 Conference play on the horizon, the No. 17-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (9-2) will ring in the New Year with Western Illinois (3-9) on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Aggies are looking for their 10th win of the season, while the Westerwinds picked up their first road victory in six tries with a 58-50 win at Sam Houston State on New Year?â„¢s Eve. The game will be part of a doubleheader night with the No. 11-ranked A&M men?â„¢s basketball team taking on Winthrop at 8:30 p.m.
DOUBLE TOP 25 ACTION AT REED ARENA
Fans can enjoy Aggie Basketball throughout the holiday season with ?Half-Price Holiday Hoops? games available. Half-price admission can be purchased for the Western Illinois game on Jan. 2. The Texas A&M athletics department is also offering free tickets to university faculty and staff for the Jan. 2 doubleheader. Tickets can be purchased online at AggieAthletics.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.
THE BOOK ON WESTERN ILLINOIS
Texas A&M will be the third team in a five-game road stretch for Western Illinois. Prior to their road trip to College Station, the Westerwinds lost at Missouri State (47-44) on Dec. 21, but defeated Sam Houston State (58-50) on Dec. 31 in Huntsville, Texas. Last season, WIU won the Mid-Continent Conference regular season title, but were upset in the conference tournament championship game by sixth-seeded Oakland (65-56) for the league?â„¢s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Westerwinds lost three of its starters to graduation in 2005-06, including leading-scorer and rebounder Zane Teilane who was selected 35th overall by the Detroit Shock in the 2006 WNBA Draft. Teilane was a two-time Mid-Con Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year selection averaging a double-double with 16.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. WIU is 0-1 this year against Big 12 Conference opposition with a 75-63 loss at Kansas on Nov. 29. The Westerwinds hold the distinction of being the only team in league to history to record four consecutive outright regular season titles.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (5.7 ppg, 6.5 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (15.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, So. (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
#44 Katrina Limbaha, F, 6-3, Fr. (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (6.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
WESTERN ILLINOIS
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#4 Amanda Walker, G, 5-9, So. (10.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
#22 DeeDee Murphy, G, 5-7, Sr. (7.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
#32 Sarah Miller, G, 5-9, So. (9.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#42 Stephanie Lovingood, F, 6-1, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
#25 Nicole Myers, F, 6-2, So. (4.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
AGAINST THE MID-CON
The Aggies are an undefeated 11-0 against opponents hailing from the Mid-Continent Conference including Centenary (1-0), Oral Roberts (6-0), Chicago State (2-0), UMKC (1-0) and Southern Utah (1-0). Western Illinois is one of four Mid-Con schools A&M has never faced along with Valparaiso, IUPUI and Oakland. It has been six years since the Aggies have faced a Mid-Con opponent since a 94-49 win over Centenary on Dec. 29, 2000.
2006-07 OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
Western Illinois is one of 11 schools on the 2006-07 slate which advanced to postseason play a year ago. The Westerwinds are one of four non-conference opponents to do so along with Pepperdine (NCAA), Rice (WNIT) and Washington (NCAA). WIU advanced to the Postseason WNIT for only the second time in school history and lost in the preliminary round at Big Ten Conference power Illinois (58-37). The Aggies will match up against back-to-back opponents which advanced to the WNIT including their Big 12 opener at Postseason WNIT champion Kansas State (12-1) on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m.
STARKS AMONG BIG 12 SCORING LEADERS
Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) currently ranks fifth among Big 12 Conference scoring leaders averaging a team-leading 15.9 points per game. She is one of only two underclassmen ranked in the top five along with league-leader Courtney Paris of Oklahoma. Starks recorded a career-high 28 points against Sam Houston State on Dec. 29 to mark her sixth 20-point game of her career. She has scored in double figures in all but two of 11 contests this season. Last year, Starks was selected to the inaugural Big 12 All-Rookie Team and was second on the team in scoring averaging 11.9 points per game. She averaged 20.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with a 47.8 shooting percentage in the last three games against North Texas, Delaware State and Sam Houston State combined.
AGGIES TOPS IN SCORING DEFENSE
Texas A&M leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense holding opponents to an average of 49.5 points per game. In their last three games against North Texas, Delaware State and Sam Houston State, the Aggie defense has held opponents to 32.1 percent field-goal shooting and 46.0 points per game. They have also held all opponents this season to a conference-leading 22.5 percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc. A&M held Sam Houston State to 15 first-half points, the third-lowest scoring production in a half by an opponent this season. The Aggies previously held Delaware State to an opponent season-low 11 first-half points on Dec. 20.
SAM HOUSTON STATE RECAP
Sophomore Takia Starks scored a career-high 28 points to lead Texas A&M to a 93-43 rout of Sam Houston State on Dec. 29. Sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and junior A'Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) each added 11 to the winning cause. A&M?â„¢s 49 first-half points were the fourth-most by A&M in a half this season. Freshman Adrian McGowen (Goodrich, Texas) came off the bench and drained two of the Aggies?â„¢ six three-pointers of the game. Sam Houston State committed 24 turnovers in just the first half alone and ended the game with an opponent season-high 37 turnovers?...Franklin was one of four players to score in double figures with 10 and eight assists against the Bearkats. Junior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) recorded her 500th career point with seven versus SHSU. Sophomore La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) fouled out of the game, but set career-highs in points (13) and assists (4).
AGGIES FROM DOWNTOWN
A&M is shooting a conference best 41.5 percent from three-point land. The Aggies have connected on six-or-more treys in four games this season including six against Sam Houston State on Dec. 29. Overall, A&M is one of the top shooting ballclubs in the Big 12 (47.2 percent) behind Oklahoma (50.6 percent). Freshman Adrian McGowen is shooting a team-best 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from beyond the three-point arc followed by junior All-American candidate Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) with a 54.2 clip.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
In non-conference play, the Aggies have won their last 21 consecutive home games against non-conference foes dating back to a 92-48 win against Texas State on Jan. 3, 2004. With one more non-conference game remaining on the slate, A&M will look to post its third-straight undefeated record against non-conference opponents at Reed Arena. The Aggies went 5-0 in 2004-05 and 8-0 in 2005-06.
LOOKING AT THE BIG 12
With the Big 12 Conference season underway, the top eight teams have survived non-conference play with fewer than two losses on the season including Texas A&M with a 9-2 record. Four schools are tied for second behind league leader Baylor (13-1) including Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri and Oklahoma State with 12-1 records respectively. Junior A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin continues to lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.67) and ranks second best in assists per game (6.6 avg). Sophomore Danielle Gant also ranks third in the league in field-goal percentage (59.0) and fourth in steals (2.45).
1. Baylor (13-1, 0-0)
2T. Iowa State (12-1, 0-0)
2T. Kansas State (12-1, 0-0)
2T. Missouri (12-1, 0-0)
2T. Oklahoma State (12-1, 0-0)
6. Oklahoma (10-1, 0-0)
7. Nebraska (12-2, 0-0)
8. Texas A&M (9-2, 0-0)
9. Texas (10-3, 0-0)
10. Texas Tech (9-5, 0-0)
11. Colorado (6-6, 0-0)
12. Kansas (5-7, 0-0)
AGGIES IN THE TOP 25
A&M dropped one spot to No. 17 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday. Their previous No. 10-ranking during Week 3 in both the AP and Coaches Polls marked the highest-ever national ranking in school history. A&M is one of only eight schools including Ohio State, North Carolina, LSU, Connecticut, Michigan State, Duke and Marquette with both its men?â„¢s and women?â„¢s basketball teams ranked among the top 25 teams in the country. However, the Aggies are the only Big 12 school to hold that distinction. A&M has appeared in the national polls for nine-straight weeks since the preseason polls came out on Nov. 1 and 8. The school record for consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 Poll is 12-straight weeks during the 1994-95 campaign under former head coach Candi Harvey. A&M went on to win the NWIT that season. The Aggies also appeared in the AP Poll for seven-straight weeks in 1995-96.
2006-07 ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
1. Maryland (15-0)
2. North Carolina (15-0)
3. Duke (14-0)
4. Tennessee (12-1)
5. Connecticut (11-0)
6. LSU (13-1)
7. Ohio State (11-1)
8. Oklahoma (9-1)
9. Baylor (12-1)
10. Purdue (13-2)
11. Vanderbilt (12-1)
12. Stanford (9-3)
13. Arizona State (12-2)
13. Louisville (15-0)
15. Georgia (12-2)
16. George Washington (11-2)
17. Texas A&M (9-2)
18. Marquette (13-1)
19. Michigan State (11-2)
20. Arkansas (15-1)
21. California (10-3)
22. Pittsburgh (12-1)
23. DePaul (11-3)
24. Bowling Green (10-2)
25. New Mexico (10-3)
AGGIES ON THE RADIO
All Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball games can be heard via a radio broadcast on the Texas A&M Sports Network with Tom Turbiville (play-by-play) and Tap Bentz (color analyst) calling the action live from Reed Arena on KZNE 1150 AM.